


Lover

by Astra_Dark



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Gift Fic, Marriage Proposal, sorry this is so late lee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22547881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astra_Dark/pseuds/Astra_Dark
Summary: This is a very, very, VERY belated birthday fic for @LieanoHope y’all enjoy the Solnina content~
Relationships: Éponine | Nina/Soleil
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Lover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lieano](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lieano/gifts).



> This is a very, very, VERY belated birthday fic for @Lieano
> 
> Hope y’all enjoy the Solnina content~

"Ughh!” Nina grumbled as she dropped a crate full of cabbage against the back wall of the kitchen. “Can't we just hire some kid to come and do this for us?"

"To harvest the vegetables from our tiny garden? I don't think so." Soleil laughed as she stepped inside the cottage, a crate of fresh potatoes rested on her hip. "Hang in there, babe, there's two more crates left."

Nina made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat in response to Soleil’s chipper tone and plopped down beside the cabbages and draped her arm over her eyes. “I need a break.” She groaned.

Soleil chuckled and lovingly shook her head at her girlfriend. Sometimes, Soleil still couldn’t believe that she gets to live in her own little cottage with the love of her life. 

They had lived together in the tiny country town on the border of Nohr and Hoshido for three summers after they had retired from traveling mercenary and vigilante work respectively. And now Soleil had a plan to have all the summers after.

“Speaking of harvests,” Soleil started. “There’s this big harvest festival happening in town this evening.” 

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, the girls from the tea shop were telling me about it,” Soleil readjusted her grip on the potato crate as she continued. “There’s gonna be food, a market, dancing, and even fireworks at the end of the night!”

“Wow, sounds like it could be fun.”

“So, you wanna go then?”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Nina tapped her chin in thought. “I did promise my dads I would visit them tonight.”

Soleil gave Nina her best puppy-dog eyes. “Please, babe? we haven’t gotten to go on a real date in _forever_!”

Nina chuckled and stood up, brushing off her pants. “Okay, okay, I would love to.”

“Yes!” Soleil exclaim. In her excitement, the crate slipped from her grip, sending potato scattering to the floor.

Nina laughed. “Come on, we need to get moving if we want to be done before it gets too late.”

… 

The festival was bustling by the time Soleil got there. 

It seemed like every person from Nohr and Hosido crowded into the square as Soleil tried to spot her girlfriend. Nina had promised to meet her here after she had finished visiting with her parents. But now it was almost impossible to find a single person among the throngs of people.

_I need a better vantage point._ Soleil thought. the crowd seemed to part for a brief second, revealing a stone fountain a few yards away. She started elbowing her way through the mass of people. By the time she finally reached the fountain her loose-fitting linen shirt was askew. She quickly righted herself before hopping up on the edge of the fountain. She shielded her eyes from the midday sun as she scanned the crowd for Nina. Finally, a flash of white hair caught her attention in the sea of people. “Nina, over here!” Soleil called.

Soleil stayed up on the edge of the fountain like a pink-haired beacon until Nina made her way through the crowd to her. When she finally got a better look at Nina her heart nearly stopped. 

Nina was wearing a green tunic with little white flowers embroidered along the neckline and a pair of black leggings. Her hair was free of her usual twin-tails in favor of a single braid that cascaded off her shoulder. She looked absolutely stunning.

“Gods, how are you so beautiful…” 

Nina cocked her head to the side. “What?”

A slight blush spread across Soleil’s cheeks as she realized she had spoken aloud. “N-Nothing!” Soleil grabbed Nina’s wrist and started leading her away from the fountain. “C-Come on, let’s go check out the food stalls!”

…

"Ugh, I'm stuffed," Nina groaned as she wrapped her arm around Soleil’s. “I don't know how you can still have room for more." 

"Hey, it's not every day that you get food as good as this," Soleil said as she gestured to the roasted corn cob she was eating. Nina chuckled at her. 

They wandered into the market. Dark wood tables lined the street. Their white tablecloth covered tops were stacked high with different wares of all kinds. Some shop owners boasted about the rare tomes of knowledge they had in their possession, others called attention to the artisan goods they had to offer. 

A booth with an array of swords on display had just caught Soleil's eye when Nina came to a sudden stop and Soleil stumbled backward a step. “Nina, what the heck--”

“I can’t believe it, they actually have it,” she said, completely ignoring her girlfriend’s complaint. 

Soleil followed Nina’s line of sight to a booth across from them. Books were scattered in neat piles across the table's surface, but one of them stood out from the rest. The book rested on a small metal stand, facing out so the passersby could clearly see the title.

_“Loving the stars._ “ Soleil read aloud. “What’s it about?”

“Two princes- one from the human world and the other from the sky kingdom of the stars- fall in love.” Nina replied as she stepped closer to the booth. “This book is the conclusion to the series; I’ve been looking for it for years.” 

Nina reached out for the book but before her fingers could even brush the powder blue cover, a wooden pointer smacked against her knuckles. 

Nina jerked back her hand. “Ow, what the hell!”

Soleil rushed to Nina’s side. “What was that for!” She snarled.

“Temper, temper,” the shopkeeper tsked as they tapped their pointer on the edge of their table. “Read the sign, dear.”

Soleil glanced down. A small piece of parchment was stitched to the tablecloth. _No handling the merchandise~_ Was scrawled across it in thin, dainty cursive. 

“Well still, that doesn’t mean—“

Nina placed her hand on Soleil’s arm, stalling her protest from going any further. Nina then turned to the shopkeeper with an all-business look on her face. “How much for _Loving the stars_?” 

“Straight to the point, I see.” the shopkeeper chuckled. “That volume just so happens to be a steal at one hundred and fifty gold.” 

“I’ll give you one hundred for it.”

“The price is one hundred and fifty.” the shopkeeper corrected.

“How about one hundred and ten?” Nina tried again.

“One hundred and fifty.” They hummed.

Nina’s eye twitched with annoyance. “One hundred twenty.”

“The price is one hundred and—“

Nina slammed her hand on the tabletop and jabbed a finger at the shopkeeper. “That price is outrageous and you know it!” 

The shopkeeper’s ever-present smile faltered for a moment as they glanced around to see if the commotion had been noticed. “Now, now,” they hushed. “There is no need to get up in arms.”

“Then lower the price!” Nina growled.

The shopkeeper gave Nina an exhausted look. “You said it yourself a moment ago, dear, this book is hard to come by.” They crossed their arms. “I will not lower the price and that is that.”

Nina opened and closed her mouth a few times and then gave a frustrated sigh. She looped her arm through Soleil’s “Come on, let’s just go.” 

They hadn't gotten far when an idea began to take shape in Soleil's mind. She slipped her arm from Nina's grasp. "Actually, I'm going to...go grab some more food." She turned and ran back the way they came. "Keep looking around, I'll be right back!"

…

Dusk had fallen over the town.  
Torches and lanterns and candles were sparked to life to chase away the gloominess of the dark. Soleil and Nina found themselves back where they started; the town square. "What's going on over there?" Nina asked, pointing. Soleil looked over in the direction she was indicating.

A makeshift stage had been set up on the other side of the square and townsfolk were beginning to gather around it in troves. A young boy and Woman with light-colored hair were standing on the platform, eyes scanning over the town folks' heads.

Soleil was about to reply to Nina when a large, burly man suddenly bumped into her shoulder.

"So sorry!" The man called back to her as he hurried on his way.

Soleil was about to bark a retort at him when she noticed the violin case in his arms.

She watched as he jogged the rest of the way across the square, elbowed his way through the crowd and jumped on the stage. He said something unheard to his bandmates before taking his violin from its case and readied it to perform. Soleil took Nina's hand in hers “The dance is starting, come on!” 

The crowd had begun to split into pairs when they joined the fray. The newly formed dance partners bowed deeply to each other, linked their arms together and waited. The sudden sound of the violin drew all their attention. The song started slow. the couples circled each other, occasionally switching which arms were linked.

“Is that it?” Nina asked as she watched the couples prance.“It seems easy enough to me.”

Soleil bowed and looked up at Nina with a grin. “Might I have this dance, milady?” 

Nina snickered at her display and held out her elbow. “I suppose you may.” 

The dance went on like that for several turns before, all at once, the rhythm picked up. Faster and faster it went until they were all spinning in tight circles. Just as they got into the swing of the dance, the dance partners spun away from each other and into the arms of their neighbors.

A blonde-haired girl pulled Soleil away from Nina, and a tall man took Nina's arm in his and spun her deeper into the crowd. It didn’t matter how many partners spun her away, Soleil’s eyes would find Nina in the crowd as if drawn by a magnetic force. Nina was smiling and laughing and dancing and with every glimpse at her, Soleil’s heart swelled. 

The song suddenly slowed to a stop and the partners grabbed their original partners and ready themselves for the next dance. Soleil found Nina and tugged her away from the dance floor. They walked over to the fountain and sat down on its edge to rest.

Soleil pulled her bag into her lap. “I got you a present.”

“Aww. you didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” Soleil laughed. “Close your eyes.”  
Nina did as she was told and slipped her eyes close. Soleil placed her present into her open hands. “Now, open them.”

Nina gasped as she saw the powder blue cover of Loving the stars. Nina ran her fingers over the cover like she thought it would disappear. “Soleil, How--”

"Don't worry, I got them to drop the price because of the damage." 

Nina took her eyes off the book. "Wait, what damage?"

"Oh, apparently the last page was ripped—"

"What?!" 

Nina flipped frantically to the last page of the book but was surprised to not find the damage Soleil mentioned, in fact, nothing was out of place except for one thing; Tied to the book's ribbon bookmark, was a ring. The band was just a simple gold, no inscriptions or filigree or anything fancy. It was a band that didn’t cost thousands of gold pieces but cost more than that in meaning.

Nina pressed her hand to her mouth and looked back up at Soleil, tears welling in her eyes. 

“Well, what do you say, Nina,” Soleil gently took Nina’s free hand in hers. “Will you marry me?”

Nina smashed her lips against Soleil’s in response.

Once they broke apart, Soleil laughed. “I hope that means yes.”

Nina smiled and took the ring from the ribbon, slipping it onto her finger. “Of course it means yes!”

“Good.” Soleil cupped her girlfriend’s, no her fiancée’s, face between her hands and kissed her. 

A sudden large boom startled them both. They looked up to see fireworks lighting up the night sky. Soleil reached over and took Nina’s hand in hers as they watched the glowing lights, the ring on Nina’s finger pressed against Soleil’s.

Soleil had never felt happier.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my twitter if you wanna- @Astra_Dark


End file.
